Israeli soldiers kill Palestinian young man in West Bank

JENIN, West Bank, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian young man early Tuesday in the northern West Bank city of Jenin, medics and security officials said.

Medics at the Jenin Hospital said Yousef Abu Zagha, 18, was killed after Israeli soldiers shot him in the chest.

Witnesses said the incident happened when the Israeli army stormed the city's outskirts, adding that dozens of young men clashed with the Israeli soldiers who opened fire and killed Abu Zagha.

Tension between Israel and the Palestinians mounted after three Israeli teenagers disappeared in southern West Bank on June 12. Bodies of the teenagers were found near Hebron on Monday.

Since the beginning of the Israeli offensive in the West Bank, seven Palestinians were killed in the West Bank and three were dead in the Gaza Strip, according to official Palestinian figures.

Israel demolished the houses of two Islamic Hamas movement members in Hebron overnight Monday. Israel said the houses, belonging to two Hamas suspects, were involved in kidnapping the teenagers.

In the Gaza Strip, five Palestinians were injured after Israeli war planes carried out more than 25 airstrikes on militants facilities, medics in southern Gaza hospitals said.

Witnesses and security officials in southern Gaza also said that Palestinian rescue teams were still searching for a sixth Palestinian, who had been buried under the rubble after one of Hamas military facility was bombarded.

The Israeli airstrike on the Gaza Strip was the most powerful Israeli assault on militants since the end of an eight-day aerial Israeli offensive on the coastal enclave in November 2012.

In response to Israel's airstrike on the Gaza Strip early Tuesday, Gaza-based militant groups vowed to launch more rockets and mortar shells into Israel.